Photos - First Annual Asheboro Chili Cook Off - Say Cheese (or beans)

If you missed the Asheboro Chili Cook Off on 4-18-09 or even if you went (and like to Google around and see if you're online), here are some of the photos from the first annual street festival.


Visiting from Jugtown to make up a big pot of chili.


Fancy meeting you up here. I'll bet my Daddy can walk faster than yours. Oh yeah. Well, mine is taller. OK. So, let's just be buddies. Catch you back on the ground.


The Asheboro police officers were out and keeping an eye on things. They found a little shade here on a hot day. It was a little noisy right next to the speakers for the band, but it was a laid back crowd with everyone from Grandmas to infants. And, everyone was playing nice. I guess chili just brings out the best in everyone. And, I hope the officers got some too. With 20 to 30 thousand in town, they had a busy day.


Hey. I know this man. He's Joel Burger. No. Not really. He is Joel, but his last name is not burger. I just think of him as Joel Burger, because he has a blog about his burger with pimento cheese that is served in Winston. I have that on my road trip map for soon.


Can you eat chili and walk? It's kind of like chewing gum and walking. Some can. Some can't. Looks like these festival visitors had it down.


It wasn't all chili at the festival. Light up grills, and you're going to have a whole lot of meat sizzling. Now, I'm hungry again and sure wish I had a piece of that grilled chicken. I did score steak at the Fresh Cuts booth (the local butcher's booth). They not only rocked that steak, they also won the Chili contest. Now, that's a meat man you can trust.

More Photos from the Asheboro, North Carolina First Annual Chili Cook Off Contest

The Chili Cook Off in Asheboro, North Carolina yesterday (4-18-09) was quite and experience. It was the first time they'd had this street festival, so no one really knew what to expect. No problem. Folks had a good time, and that's what counts.

I hope they do make the Chili Cook Out an annual NC event. I guess folks need to let Bryan who owns the Bagel Shop in town know that, because he came up with the idea and made it happen. Thumbs up to him and everyone who worked really hard to see to it that everyone felt like family in Asheboro.


Welcome to the Pepsi generation. Pepsi is a North Carolina soft drink or soda as it's often called in these parts. Head further toward the mountains, and it's pop. In any case, the kids love it. Great on a hot day - if not so very healthy. But, it was a Chili Cook Off after all.


Next year, someone needs to put this fellow in charge of something. He danced for an hour or more solid I think, and he didn't even break a sweat. Must have waited until after to test out the chili.


They don't use those kiddie leashes in Asheboro. Nope. It's more the village system. Several little ones made a break for the stage and a couple even managed to hit it a couple of times. No big deal. That's what kids do. Made me think of the Sawyer Brown song - "The Race is On." The band didn't play that, but they did some other great country favorites.


The call can wait. Here, have a bite. Oh well. Just slurp it down and keep on talking. Got ya. It's a hot one. No. Not really. But, that could be a fun trick for those who are cell phone addicted.


Now, this is what I call having a big time. Crank that music up a little louder, and we're going to rock this town all night long (or until 10 p.m.)

1st Annual Asheboro Chili Cook Off 2009 - Thumbs Up

Fun Time at the Asheboro, NC Chili Cook Off for All Ages


Chili Cooking and Smelling Like Heaven


Cowboy Dances and Dances - Might Want to Sign Him Up for the Band


Cooks Were Working Hard but Having a Great Time at the Asheboro Chili Cook Off


Turn Out the Lights - The Party's Over - Until Next Year - We Hope!

It's always fun but kind of hectic to be part of a FIRST ANNUAL anything. I was honored to be invited to judge at the first ever Asheboro, North Carolina Chili Cook Off.

Bryan, who owns the bagel shop in town where you will get the real deal, came up with this idea to have a Chili Cook Off. I doubt he knew what he was getting in to, because I've planned a big shebang, and it's a whale of a lot more work than anyone can imagine.

The chili cooks showed up way before I did, and I was early on at this party. I always allow a little time to get lost, since my internal compass is messed up. They told us North was ahead in school, so I have this idea that I'm always headed north which can complicate getting places - other than up north.

When I got to Asheboro, Southbound 49 was playing, and they were real crowd pleasers. The sound was country rock, and everyone from Grandma to the little ones were clapping or dancing.

All the chili cooks were sharing samples. With some competitions, you don't get that kind of atmosphere. It's more about winning and less about everyone having fun. In Asheboro, it was about a good time.

As a judge, I got to hang out in Bryan's Bagel Shop and meet the mayor and other local celebrities as well as getting to try all the chili dishes. That was not good for my diet but was a good time - for sure.

I sure hope they continue to has this small town festival. It was definately fun.

Full of Chili After Judging the Asheboro Chili Cook Off - April 2009

This is NOT a police line up. Really. We are the chili contest judges in Asheboro, NC after eating a whale of a lot of chili. From left to right: Asheboro Mayor David H. Jarrell, Grill Girl, Moses Howard, and Chris from Chris and Chris on the radio.

There was some serious deliberation going on at the judging counter. The mayor and Moses ponder on what makes the perfect chili.


The owner of Fresh Cuts Butcher and Seafood hot foots it to the front when he's named the winner of the first annual Chili Cook Off in Asheboro.


Bryan Vaughan and Chris congratulate Kevin Hill who owns Fresh Cuts Meat & Seafood of Asheboro on having the best darn chili in North Carolina.


Don't you wish you local butcher looked this cute and also could make award winning chili?

Everyone should judge a chili contest once. I can tell you that it's quite and experience.

Today, I drove out to Asheboro to help pick the best chili of the day. I took an Imodium beforehand to be on the safe side and packed Tums, crackers, and water.

This was the first year for the Chili Cook Off, and Bryan who owns the local bagel shop put the event together along with my friend Greta who works in promotions.

I arrived early, so I could wander around and enjoy the street festival and shoot a few pictures. Then, I went to the bagal shop to get down to business.

The mayor of Asheboro who was absolutely delightful and Moses Howard (the original rhythm and blues comic) were already checking out the various chilis. I grabbed my pen and paper and began checking out the different cups of chili. Moses (I think it was) said, "Are you supposed to take notes at these things?" I said, "Well, I don't think I can remember all of them without notes."

There were numbers on the cups, so we didn't have a clue who had turned in which chili. We just wrote down numbers and notes including marking down favorites.

We each had a spoon. Yes. We were double dipping. Someone mentioned later about getting a fresh spoon so as not to double dip. Oops. Too late. I confirmed a visual inspection and found the guys to be a healthy, strapping bunch. So, maybe we traded a little spit, but oh well. Life goes on. All that hot sauce probably sanitized everything anyway.

This tasting of the chili was more art than science. We each marked down favorites without comparing notes and then tallied up at the end. There were only 7 or 8 contenders by vote. The ones with three votes went to the top of the chart. That narrowed the pool.

We all agreed on the number one chili. That really was just: Which one was your top pick? We had all tagged the same one for that spot. It stood out.

Likewise with the second place chili. Not much discussion there.

Slot three was more difficult. We went back to tasting and then marking down which ones we liked. We got that down to two bowls. The vote split even - two for one bowl and two for the other. We had to grab a tie breaker judge and went with the chili that she picked out of those last two.

I can't speak for all the judges, but I looked at appearance, aroma, and mainly taste.

In terms of trends, the favorites were mostly classic North Carolina chilis with meat and beans. Folks out in Texas will freak on that. They disqualify chilis with beans out there. And, they aren't much on ground beef chili, although that was the style with most of the North Carolina chilis. In Asheboro, there's an expectation that you're going to have a ground beef base and beans of some type.

Vegetarian chili was interesting and especially the unidenified chunks which were probably tofu. Adding vegetables to the standard chili scored fine with one winner including corn. Mushrooms in there was more like spaghetti sauce, while skimpy on the beans was considered rather like hot dog chili (with no weiners or buns).

Judges tended to be heat freaks for the most part - especially Moses who wore a hot pepper shirt which is a good clue. The mayor and I scored the mild by number 13 top, and I cried on the hot 13 while the mayor did not. I suppose you could say that he kicked my butt on that. Go Mayor Jarrell. In any case, we all loved 13 which is supposed to be the unlucky number but certainly was not today.

The guys cut out after we picked the winners by number, and I stuck around to talk to Greta and to buy a real bagel for my son (who was blown away with it when I got home). Actually, they were not selling bagels, and some nice guy at the bagel shop gave me one, and I will have to take 64 going up to Raleigh soon, so I can buy more. Bryan's homemade bagels really were ALL THAT.

Since I was still in the shop, I got to hear about the winners before they announced that at 5 p.m. It turned out that a local won the contest. That was Fresh Cuts. They don't usually cook. They hand cut meat and have fresh seafood. That's what I'm talking about. We used to have a local butcher but don't now - a shame. Maybe the butcher should open up a restaurant as well, because he sure did make some great chili. That call wasn't even close. We knew first place was number 13. We just didn't know who was number 13. Make mine mild though, because that had plenty of heat. My nose is still running from the hot 13.

Chili Cook Off in Asheboro, NC Saturday 4-18-09

My boys like to cook outdoors in the Dutch Oven. That's how they like to make chili, but I think they're doing chicken and dumplings in this shot.

Everything tastes better cooked outdoors and that includes chili. The good folks in Asheboro, NC know that, so they are having a huge chili cook off this Saturday (April 18, 2009).

It's too late to enter this year, but that's fine. You can drop by and enjoy the fun street festival with lots of music and good food.

I'm very pumped up about the festival, because I get to help judge the chili entries. Talk about a sweet or HOT job. I am definately wearing loose pants, because the last I heard, they have 40 entries. That's a lot of chili to check out.

I am a chili fanatic and love to make and eat all kinds of chili. About the only chili I don't like is stuff named "chili sauce" in a can. What is that? It looks and tastes like dog food. No go on canned chili sauce.

If you've never made chili or don't live close enough to get to Asheboro this weekend, I have a very easy starter chili recipe. It's called Taco Soup, but it's really just a variation of chili with a little Mexican flavor. The flavor is mild, so it works out for groups where you may have folks who just don't "get" hot chili.

If you can get out to Asheboro, it's going to be a blast. They are calling for wonderful weather, and everyone is getting excited. If you see me there, tell me "hi." I enjoy meeting folks who check out my barbecue blog and web sites. I should be in the judging area around 3 p.m. Otherwise, I'll be wandering around enjoying the Asheboro festival.